Africa, Latin America and the Middle East through literature

Khaled Al Khamissi

Translated by Jonathan Wright

ISBN: 9781906300029

Size: 216mmx140mm

Paperback

202 pages

Available: Apr 08

Philosophy in motion - in Cairo's rush hour

It is the most diverse species on the planet and it inhabits the polluted, unforgiving streets of Cairo, a city that simply refuses to stand still.

The taxi driver is an urban omnivore whose high-speed colours, habits and moods reflect all surrounding life, and yet pass it by, in the bustling flora and fauna of the Egyptian capital.

Khaled Al Khamissi's Taxi is a remarkable journey into the lives and labyrinths of this beast of burden that has become a best-selling modern masterpiece in the author's home country.

Taxi brings together 58 fictional monologues with Cairo cabbies recreated from the author's own experience of traversing the city. The experience takes the reader on a roller-coaster of emotions as bumpy and noisy as the city's potholed and chaotic streets.

Described as an urban sociology, an ethnography, a classic of oral history - and a work of poetry in motion - Taxi tells Herculean tales of the struggle for survival and dignity among Greater Cairo's 80,000 cab drivers. A wing-mirror that reflects both on modern Egypt and on the human condition, it plucks from the rush-hour sandstorm a feast of drivers' recollections, memories, personal stories, lies, loves, hates, dreams and philosophical adventures.

Translated by Jonathan Wright, Taxi is a unique work combining the authentic insights of the man on the street with the poignant self-reflections of members of a caste who have little or nothing in common. Written in a rich colloquial that departs with a slam of a dented door from the literary language Egyptian writers commonly employ, it has been credited with reviving an interest in reading as it has become an instant best-seller, topping the sales charts in Arabic-speaking markets.

Taxi will be released to the English market to co-incide with Arab countries being the market focus of the 2008 London Book Fair.

'It's a book about the petty, daily frustrations of Egypt's working poor as they scratch out a living in the almost unworkable metropolis of Cairo. It's a book to make you feel guilty you ever tried to bargain down a cab fare in any poor country.' - Chicago Tribune

'“[Taxi is] like a refreshing breeze on a hot day.” Yes, the book is about the resilience of the human spirit, it is a powerful chronicle of the Herculean struggle for survival and dignity, it does document increasing social inequalities, and it does faithfully record the pungency and power of everyday speech. It’s an urban sociology, an empathetic ethnography, a collection of valuable oral histories, and a morphology of ordinary people’s language all rolled into one.' - Baheyya.blogspot.com

'Hemmed in by other cars, stifled by fumes and the summer heat, abused by corrupt policemen, overworked and underpaid, they talk about just about everything — politics, women, films, travel abroad and most often their contempt for authority.' - Daily Star

'...interest in the book shouldn't be surprising. Although there has been an abundance of scholarly work attempting to determine "what happened to the Egyptians," Khamissi's novel stands out. His unlikely approach, lucid prose and rare insight into popular perceptions make Taxi perhaps the most interesting of the works that chronicle the social and political transformations Egypt has undergone during the past five decades.' - Foreign Policy

Khaled Al Khamissi (1962-) is a journalist, writer, film director and producer, and publisher. He studied in Egypt and completed a master's degree in political science at the Sorbonne in Paris. He has written as a journalist for many Egyptian gazettes and newspapers. He has produced and written the scripts for drama and documentary films and is a regular participant at international film festivals.

Taxi